HTC Re Camera: A Goofy New Product

On Wednesday, HTC held a launch event. It was widely assumed that this event would mark the release of a new HTC smartwatch. According to Re/code, the wearable was not ready, and thus the launch of the watch was pushed back. HTC Americas head Jason Mackenzie told Re/code:

We had originally planned to have a wearable launch in this time frame…It ended up just not being ready.

We’ve seen a lot of general purpose wearables come to market…There’s not a strong reason to wear one every day. When we come to market with our product we want to make sure the product has a strong point of view and there is a really compelling reason to strap it on your wrist.1

Though the smartwatch was pushed back, HTC did release a new product. Here is the HTC Re Camera:

This device seems a bit odd, at least coming from HTC. Perhaps the best view of the Re Camera comes from The Verge’s Vlad Savov:

The Re Camera is silly, both in its price and appearance. It’s waterproof, it’s wearable, it captures high-resolution photos and Full HD video, but at $199.99, it struggles to compete with better GoPro alternatives. HTC’s immediate response is to say that this camera isn’t for the same class of user, but that’s not how people buy their gear. They go on brand recognition first, which the $200 GoPro Hero3 has in spades, plus there’s the basic $129.99 GoPro Hero that lacks only Wi-Fi. HTC’s lunch has pretty much been eaten before it’s been served, but even taking the company’s claim that the Re Camera is different enough to carve out its own niche, how big of a niche is it?3